Sparks
by thebeastinsideusall
Summary: A deep inhale in his nose and a few seconds to sort through all the scents in the guildhall. Ozone and static just barely clinging to her skin, she was the lightning mage that had joined recently. This is cross posted from my Archive account.
1. Chapter 1

Dragon senses could pick up almost anything, with the right amount of practice. Laxus learned early on that he could and should rely on his far enhanced hearing, eyesight and scent tracking. He practiced nearly every day while in the guild hall. The noise level was great practice for trying to pick out someone's voice, even if it was a whisper or murmur. It was a game for himself now. He'd pick a random guild mate in the morning when he walked in, and throughout the day he would focus and try to pinpoint their location in the guild by the sound of their voice or laugh.

The rumbling of a stomach, was in fact something he didn't hear very often. Distracted from his paperwork by the offending sound, Laxus stood from his table on the second-floor balcony and went to the railing to see if he could find who had missed breakfast that morning. Just another game to him, to hone his sense and become acquainted with each member of his guild in the event of an emergency.

Natsu and Gray were at it, foreheads pressed against the others and fists raised. Not them, Natsu ate like a dragon slayer, constantly, but he was never that hungry. Lucy was at the bar, milkshake in front of her and Mira was setting down her ordered lunch. Lucy was hungry, but it was lunch time, everyone was a little hungry. Not her. Storm grey eyes looked about. Gajeel had Levy in his lap, the slayer looking completely bored, but everyone knew better, Black Steel Gajeel was head over heels. Everyone was waiting for Levy to come into the guild with gunmetal scales over her neck. Nah, they both had empty plates that Kinana was picking up that very moment to take back to the kitchen.

Laxus rubbed at his chin, idly thinking he'd need a shave soon. Then his eyes traveled to the back corner of the guild, where the tables were kind of smashed into the wall and under a window for more natural light but was more a study space than eating or drinking. A few of the newer members sometimes congregated there to study their magics from the massive library that Fairy Tail housed for that sole purpose.

There it was again, the sound of air trying to be digested in a very empty stomach. Blue hair braided down her back the color of a neon sign. A small stack of books on the table and only a glass of water there within reach of her hand. She downed what was left and he noticed a barely concealed grimace as the cool water hit an empty stomach. It would appease the hunger but just fractionally.

Laxus wracked his brain for who she was. Still a fresh face in the guild and he'd barely had time to finally remember the last batch of members that came to join. They'd have to start regulating that shit, the guild was near bursting and it was huge already. It took him a moment but the color of her hair made it easier. Blitz, Ashton Blitz, that's who it was. And if he remembered correctly... A deep inhale in his nose and a few seconds to sort through all the scents in the guildhall. Ozone and static just barely clinging to her skin, she was the lightning mage that had joined recently.

Her stomach growled once more and she visibly blushed but tried to hide it with a cough, in the chaos and noise of the guild it was easily unnoticed. She went back to her books, a thin notepad by her hand as she scribbled notes. Something that should have also tipped Laxus off to who it was were the dark sunglasses over her eyes. Her recalled, Gramps mentioning her eyes. They were white, purest white with no pupil or retina. Yet, she could see perfectly fine. Something about a birth defect, Gramps had said. You don't forget that kind of feature.

He saw her waver in her seat before he knew what he was doing, booted feet going to the bar and ordering whatever the crap Lucy had for lunch. Kinana gave him a confused look but the guild was so busy she didn't question it and moments later a small tray with a turkey sandwich, fries and a cup of fruit was in his hands and he was across the guild. Dodging Gray being thrown in the air and side-stepping Romeo and Wendy practicing their magic in between the tables. Children.

"Blitz." He spoke low so not to attract too much attention, but she still reacted as if he'd yelled at her in her face. She jumped in her set, hitting her elbow on the hard-wooden table and he smirked a tiny bit at her clumsiness. Setting the tray down on top of the books she stared at him perplexed at the food, but her growling stomach had other ideas and practically roared at her. Ashton blushed beneath the dark rims of her sunglasses.

"could hear your hunger all the way upstairs. Why haven't you eaten?" he could feel her gaze narrow behind the glasses and she crossed her arms.

"I'm fine. I didn't even know what time it was... I was gonna... Go home and eat later."

"Yeah, nice try. So, a rule in Fairy Tail? Don't fucking lie to me or any of the other slayer." he taps his nose once and then returns his hand to his crossed arms. "We can all smell lies." Laxus finds her unable to respond and instead she goes silent, her stomach continuing to cry for food and he takes another look at her.

Ashton is on the heavy side, not that she's overweight really. But she's squishy and jiggly where every other woman in the guild was... fuck. Laxus narrowed his own gaze as her head tilted a fraction and Laxus followed what he figured was her line of sight. Straight to Lucy giggling at something Kinana said, Kinana standing beside Mira. All three with thin waists and heavy chests, flared hips and lean legs. Ashton was wearing a very loose long sleeve short with baggy jeans and boots; those women were wearing tight almost form fitting clothes that hid nothing to the imagination. He got it now.

Taking a seat across from her, Laxus leaned his elbows on the table. Still towering over her even while both sitting down. "Not eating is the worst way to go about that, it's extremely unhealthy." she startled, enough that she started to gather her books, and, in a few moments, she was trying to leave the guild entirely. Laxus could scent the heat in her cheeks and noticed the infinitesimal sparks wanting to roam over her arms. Her stomach growled once more but she left and Laxus was left with the lunch at the table. Slowly he got up and went up the stairs, taking the lunch with hi and devouring it himself. He wouldn't push it. But he'd now watch out for Blitz and wondered if he needed to talk to Gramps about a possible guild member with an eating disorder.


	2. Chapter 2

Several days had passed where Ashton didn't show up. Laxus expected that, he'd come on a little strong about whatever she was going through and she didn't even know him except by name and meeting him on her first day. She'd been here four months and he'd hardly seen her other than that. He felt a little bad, he's supposed to be the next guild master. Every single member of the guild should be on his priority list. But between the heavy influx of s-class mission lately that needed he and his team, the heavy amount of paperwork that was only what his grandfather couldn't attend to that day. He was lagging for time to even shower, eat and train himself.

He looked over her thin file from the shelf in the main office. She was made into a magic user by a rare accident of being hit by lightning during a thunderstorm. Instead of killing her it melded with her body and bloodstream and forced her to control it early on. She nearly killed a friend right after it happened. He found it odd that her eyes weren't the reaction of the lightning in her body, but he ignored that. Plenty of people were born with strange eyes and hair that didn't have any magic abilities.

Thats why she was at Fairy Tail, to learn how to control her new abilities. She'd only had them a little over a year and she had just enough of a handle on them to not electrocute someone who accidently touched her. That needed fixing, soon. Lightning was a very dangerous element to even think to be playing with on a good day. A powerful mage could possibly deflect a natural bolt but would be even less likely to survive the blow back. It was an element that was close to the mages emotions and body language. If it went unchecked, she could cause some serious damage to not only the guild but everyone near her if she ever released it all accidently.

Which raised another question. She hadn't specified what her magic container was. That was a usual question to a Fairy Tail application form. She wrote that she didn't know because she had no idea how to measure something like that. Perhaps he could suggest she try out the training grounds. They had a dummy somewhere that is used for measuring magic power. So, there was absolutely no telling how much she had stored in her body at any given time. Laxus could scent it on her skin, and the underlying current beneath that skin like a livewire. Another thing to worry about. She had quite a bit stored up, not enough that he could tell to really cause anyone deadly harm but enough that she posed a danger of went pent up inside of her.

Choice made, Laxus grabbed the thin file and left his post at the railing because he was not in fact watching for her the past few days, nope, and made his way into his grandfather's main office.

"Come in." Laxus stepped inside and made sure the door was clicked shut before turning and standing on the other side of the desk from his grandfather. When the small old and looked up at Laxus silence he furrowed his bushy grey brows a set his pen down on eh desk. "What's the matter my Boy?"

"One of the new members, Blitz, lightning mage." raising a brow Makarov glanced at the now open file on his desk and where Laxus had circled parts where she couldn't answer the questions on the application. Quite few of them were unfilled and had to do with her abilities.

"Ah, I wondered if you would look at that for me." Makarov hopped up to stand atop the files and bent a bit to look at them closely for another moment. "I wouldn't have let her join with all of this but for one reason."

"And that is?" with his own raised brow Laxus crossed his arms, biceps bulging with the movement.

"She went to Sabretooth first. Orga refused to train her." Laxus blanched, frozen for a rare moment in surprise. Orga was a bit of an asshole but Laxus didn't figure the man would pass up a pupil with her abilities. Lightning magic was already rare enough to aster, him excluded because of his implanted lacrima. "She came here to ask for training. I told her to acquaint herself with the guild first and then she would come to me when she felt ready to ask for help. She hasn't shown up yet. I fear she may be a bit terrified of asking for help." Makarov smiled sadly.

Laxus pinched the bridge of his nose. "has she taken and jobs at all? Has anyone seen her powers?" Makarov shakes his head slowly. "So, she's got uncontrolled powers, she's completely untrained and no one knows how much of a kick she has behind her? Aare you fucking crazy?! Gramps! What if Natsu fucking challenged her to fight? We don't know what type pf lightning she has exactly, what if she accidently hurts one of the guild?!"

Makarov wanted to smirk behind his mustache at his grandson. The man had come so far form someone who couldn't care less about the weaker members of his guild to wanting to know as much as he could and helping where he was most needed. This would be one of those times where the dragon slayer was really needed for his abilities. "I was waiting for her to come of her own accord. But since she hasn't. I was going to ask you to train her Laxus. No one else has your level of knowledge besides the dragon soul that lives in your lacrima. I fear if her heart might give out the way she holds in so much power."

Laxus groaned and threw his head back as he stared at the ceiling. He desperately did not need more on his plate but what could he do? He couldn't leave an untrained mage with his ability in the guild with no control. And he wouldn't push her to the street like Orga had done, ore to rub it in that assholes face than anything. Sabretooth was lacking members now since Sting had taken over and cleared out the bad seeds. Another lightning mage would have given them a better edge against Fairy Tail. Idiot.

"I'm not doing anymore paperwork until she's trained..." Makarov clapped his hands together and a big grin came across his face as she shooed out Laxus from his office.

So Laxus moved back to the railing and growled low in his throat. He didn't need an apprentice, but she needed a mentor and Laxus was turning into a fucking bleeding heart now. Whatever.


	3. Chapter 3

The blue-haired, white-eyed mage finally did show up later that same afternoon, half an hour before Laxus was about to leave with Bickslow for their three-time weekly workout at the Thunder Legion house. He caught the neon color of her hair before he crossed her simple scent of ozone and laundry dryer sheets. What a strange scent. Normally someone had at least two undertones to their natural scent, she only had the smell of lightning on her skin. Back at that same table, small stack of books in front of her and notepad at her side. Laxus leaned on the railing and narrowed his gaze at her from across the hall.

Bickslow knew what he and the Master had spoken about, Laxus rarely kept anything from the seith mage for very long. He'd asked the other mage for a bit of added help with this one. Taking on an apprentice was a huge job on its own, that came with a lot of responsibility and tact. However, Laxus wasn't good with being social and he rarely didn't have an angry scowl on his face besides in the heat of battle. Even then, it was a devilish grin of triumph and power. He didn't exude kindness or another emotion that made people feel safe or comfortable. Bickslow was the epitome of a people person. If the seith mage couldn't get the girl to open, Laxus wouldn't have a clue as to how to get the girl on his side so he could start training her. Plus, with Bickslow's power, the mage could see if there was something deeper than just body issues with the girl, which she obviously had.

"I can't believe you haven't been checking her out boss." Bickslow grinned beneath his helm and his long tongue lolled out of his out as he cackled softly. Laxus raised an eyebrow at the mage to his left. "What? She's fucking adorable. I'd hit it." Laxus only rolled his eyes at that, Bickslow would sleep with just about any woman with a pretty face regardless of her size or skin color. Course, Laxus liked his women wider than the ones usually in the guild's ranks. Mira was great but, she was too tiny as were Lucy and every other girl and woman here. That's why Laxus usually waited to go on jobs to find his slice of action in other towns and cities. No strings, no worries. Bickslow rolled his tongue back in his mouth and tilted his head in thought for a moment. "Why don't you just sit her down and say that Gramps asked you to be her mentor? Tell her she can shadow your training today, that might make it easier for her to be more comfortable with you if I'm there? She won't be alone with you then."

Scrubbing a hand over his face Laxus groaned low in his throat at the thought but he agreed with the seith mage. He had to be delicate with this situation right now, at least in the beginning. So, he stood to his full height and made his way down the stairs with the seith mage at his side until they sat down across from Ashton, startling the girl to look up at their sudden appearance. The sunglasses slip from her nose from her quick look up and they fall haphazardly to the table while she stumbles to catch them. The whites of her eyes wide, the entire eye is white, and it makes Bickslow pause for a complete minute as he stares at them in obvious awe.

"Fuck..." His words made Ashton quickly place the glasses back on her face and her cheeks flushed a deep red, and Laxus wondered if it was shame instead of nerves that made her blush.

"Okay Blitz, got some orders from the master." She does sit up more then, still slouching some and her arms back around her middle in her baggy clothes. "Orga was a fucking dumbass, lightning is rare for a mage to control and even rarer to master. But it's one, if not the, most powerful elemental magic there is. He should have taken the chance to train you."

"I.."

"Congratulations Blitz, you're gonna be trained by the Lighting God." Laxus stood and rose an eyebrow. "Well come on, I'm late to train and you're gonna watch." Mouth gaping Ashton simply sat there for a moment, Laxus sent a tiny jolt of static to her cheek and she gasped out of her stupor. Little blue lines of static soaking up the shock and then vanishing from her skin. Gathering her books into her satchel and then hurrying after himself and Bickslow as they took long legged strides out of the guild hall. Bickslow turning his head to glance back at her and cackling in his usual way as she tried in vain to keep up.


	4. Chapter 4

The Thunder Legion had a house for themselves on the outskirts of the city and a bit further into the woods surrounding Magnolia. It gave them privacy from the guild itself and was large enough they all had their own small apartments inside the building. There was a medium sized gym and training room in the basement but outside, instead of gardens or anything else, there was a large ruined space that the four could train inside without destroying the forest around them. A set of gymnastic beams and poles, trampolines. Lots of dummies to attack and plenty of room for all of them to work on long range attacks together. Wards placed around to now destroy the forest.

On the days Laxus and Bickslow trained, they worked on flexibility and agility. If they can't work outside, they switch indoors to the basement and work on their strength training and weights. It was nice and sunny today, if a little chilled as the last of spring was still clinging to the country. Ashton was panting very slightly at their fast-paced walk and it took her four blocks to realize this was their normal gat. Her shorter legs were having trouble keeping up, not to mention she was far out of shape.

When they came up on the large house Ashton caught herself staring to the side and not watching where she was going, and she walked right into Laxus' side as he stopped walking and waited for her. A little shock of blue static spread over her arm where she'd touched his skin accidently and she clambered back and uttered a soft apology.

"It's fine. I want you to just watch for now. See if you can tell where or how I control the electricity while I train. If you can't that's fine, you may have a different pull then I do. "

"I've... I don't know HOW to let it go..." she mumbled out before he could continue. He and Bickslow both tilted their heads in thought.

"You don't know how to release it? At all?" She shakes her head and grips the strap of her satchel. "Okay, new plan. Bix grab one of the dummies and set it up. Were jumping right into this." Gripping her shoulder once more to tug her toward the field, another shock of blue released but traveled up his arm and he rose an eyebrow. It attributes to that of a feather touching his very accustomed to lightning skin. But it was still there. "Come on."

Bickslow slammed the post of the dummy into the ground, easily setting it up deep so it won't be knocked over and Laxus heard Ashton's small intake of breath at the miniscule amount of strength the seith mage showed. The mage really did fill out the entirety of his knightly uniform with heavy muscle on a lean frame. Laxus gently pushed her forward until they were closer to the dummy and fully inside the rune edge of the practice field. Ashton took the strap of her satchel and set it on the ground, timidly coming forward and brushing her glasses back up her nose.

"You feel it under your skin, right? That static, the river of it in your blood?" She nods at Laxus' words. "Good, that's better than I thought. Think of the current you feel when you shock someone by accident, like if you're wearing fuzzy socks and the air's dry." She nods again but he can't see what her eyes are saying so he reaches forward and pulls them from her face. "Can't fucking see you, keep these off in training." Then he continues even though she's flushed. Fuck, her eyes have no pupil, their just pure white it's a bit unsettling. He can't see minute changes that would alert him to her movements or emotions.

"Focus the current under your skin and reach out to touch the dummy." Her brows furrow and that much he can see.

"That's it?" He nods and crosses his arms, Bickslow taking a few subtle steps back, knowing how crazy lightning is. He's been shocked enough times while Laxus was first mastering his powers that the seith mage knew to back up enough he wouldn't die of electric bolts. Laxus pointed a hand to the dummy and stepped out of her space, curious to see if she could do it.

It only took a moment, enough time to wonder if she could release the power at all, and then with a bright flash of neon blue lightning, the dummy was decimated into nothing but ash and thin smoke trail working tis way up into the air. Bickslow's jaw dropped. Ashton clapped her hands over her mouth in shock and Laxus let the corner of his lips twitch upwards.

"Huh..." Laxus rubbed a hand over his freshly shaved jaw and tried his best to put his face back into its stoic facade. "Starting tomorrow be at the guild at seven. Wear workout clothes." Scrambling to respond Ashton only gapes at his raised brow. "And eat breakfast." With that, he dismisses her with a wave of his hand. She's scurrying down the path and back into the city when Bickslow stands at his side. "She's fucking powerful Bix."

The seith mage only grins, now free of his helmet because he didn't want to frighten the blue haired girl accidently with his own eyes and tattooed face. "She'd be a god fit you know boss, for the Thunder Legion. We'd be pretty fucking badass with another lightning age."

"She's a kid Bix, we only go on S-class missions, SS-class missions or council requests now. Way too dangerous for her. She's not even trained." Turning to head to the poles and beams he walks side by side his longest friend. "She can hold a lot of magic in her, and she could still walk after draining that much from her body. I'm thinking she can hold even more and only stopped because the target was gone too quickly."

"You're saying she has more stored up inside?" Laxus nods.

"We need to get Freed to rune a few dummies, see what her level actually is, and I can go from there."

"You'll need to work on her actual training too. Did you see how badly she was trying to keep up with just a walk for the both of us? Even Ever in three-inch heels can keep up without any effort." That made Laxus sigh.

"That's another thing that's starting to bother me. The other day I could hear her stomach growling for food. When I asked her about it, she went on the defense and ran. I'm wondering if she's got something going on. She's got jewels, I checked her guild account." There was no reason she should be skipping meals if she had money.

He thought about how she'd looked toward Lucy and the other women and wanted to groan. Female emotions weren't his thing but the idea he had as to why she wasn't eating on the regular had him worried. You couldn't do that to your body. Starving yourself was one of the worst ways to thin up a lose weight. In a lot of cases it made the person gain more weight because the body was storing it instead of burning it. Then there were fainting spells, emotions out of balance and slew of other problems from doing that.


	5. Chapter 5

She was early. Standing on the front steps of the guild in the early morning dawn was Ashton. Laxus took in her form as he and Bickslow moved toward the girl. She was wearing solid back sweat pants and sneakers a bit worn but still in good condition. A pale pink sweatshirt on her torso with the sleeves cut at the elbows and her hair was french braided down her back and over one shoulder into two separate tails. Glasses on her face as she perked up at the sight of them, standing fully straight and nervously playing with the strings of her hood. Bickslow nudged his side and Laxus rolled his eyes at the seith mage to his right, Bickslow had made it very clear he thought the younger lightning mage was cute and his want to ask the girl out. Laxus had immediately forbade it, since they'd be working together for a long time until her training was complete. He didn't want drama between his teammates and his trainee. But Bickslow had turned it around on him, openly proclaiming that Laxus in fact wanted to keep the blue haired girl to himself. Laxus knew his friend well, enough hat Bickslow would give it up sooner or later if Laxus gave no indication he wanted the blunette.

"Gfood morning." Ashton's voice was soft, heavy with sleep and he could hear a scratch in her throat. He could smell the faint mint of her toothpaste and the waft of coffee with far too much sugar coming from her mouth as she spoke. His nose flaring just a fraction as he took in her scent and the surrounding area. Fresh mown grass in the gardens, bacon frying inside the guild hall, and the frizzle of ozone wafting off the exposed skin of her forearms. A much softer bite than his own scent of heavy lightning and ocean tides.

"You ready?" she nods at his question and when he raises an eyebrow, she scrambles to take off her dark sunglasses and stash them in the pocket of her hoodie. Though she didn't like them off, he could tell. Good, she learns fast. He might not have to repeat himself dozens of times to get a point across. "We're gonna go easy the first week. I don't expect you to keep up. But I expect you to try." He saw nothing in her pure white eyes, and he reminded himself yet again to get that story from her. It had to be more than a birth defect, that was unnatural. Training her, seeing her reactions and judging her emotions would have to rely on her scent alone because he couldn't tell from her eyes.

"I'll do my best." Laxus took that for what it was. They barely knew each other and until they did, she wouldn't go further than she was able, and he wouldn't push. Something about her made him not want to simply shove until she broke and then push some more. It didn't seem the correct approach with her soft persona he'd seen so far.

Laxus turned and headed for the path that led behind the guild and up into the hills behind it, part of the guild property for others to train. It was runed to keep the city safe from any backlash of an out of control ability not yet harnessed and Laxus wanted to take her up into the hills and see what a blast from her could do damage wise. Bickslow, ever the strange one and flexible man, flipped to start walking in his hands in perfect balance beside Laxus. He tilted his head backwards and stuck his tongue out playfully at Ashton and she only gaped at how easily Bickslow moved as she went to follow the two of them.

In truth, Laxus was glad Bickslow didn't mind being here. He really didn't like the idea of being alone with the girl just yet. It didn't feel… appropriate, to be around her by himself and in close quarters. She was fucking tiny, maybe an inch or too taller than Lucy but Lucy was small compared to him. Most people were small compared to his size. That he was used too, but he just felt like... she was a child and he an adult. He didn't want any distasteful rumors being whispered if they were seen together. But now that he saw Bickslow at his side and his friend's long tongue still falling out of his mouth, Laxus wanted to sigh. Maybe the rumors would start anyways. He knew full well she was of and above the legal age of consent, but she didn't look like it. Not to him at least. Still, having Bix there eased some of the near constant tension he seemed to always have set in his shoulders.

Freed had come the previous evening to set up a small array of dummies and, somehow, gotten ahold of a power rater from the Magic Council, Laxus hoped. Like the one used in the Grand Magic Games. Laxus didn't necessarily want to use it first off, but he was curious to see her power level before training started with the blunette. Watching your own progress was a great way to stay motivated when times got tough and you felt like giving up. Glancing over to the white eyed girl to his back, she was already a little flushed in the cheeks but kept her pace long legged and was trying her best to keep pace with his and Bickslow slow walk up the hills, the seith mage had flipped back to his feet by now.

"So what village are you from Blitz?" Bickslow turned to walk backwards, arms crossed behind his head and clasped to his visor as he asked her the question.

"Umm, Oak Town." She answered easily, though they could both hear the hint of breathlessness from her voice, they kept going. They couldn't start babying her now. Bickslow rose an eyebrow, though no one could see it, under his visor.

The response had Laxus stopping his gait to half turn back to the blue haired girl and his own eyes narrowed, she could see his though, and her gait slowed. "You're from Oak Town?" she nods as she stops a short distance away.

"You have any run ins with Phantom Lorde?" it was a stretch, he knew it was. It's been four years since they returned from the seven-year sleep on Tenrou island. That's eleven years, give or take some months. If she grew up in oak town, she might have had some bad experiences with Phantom Lorde and possibly Gajeel, though the iron slayer and she had been in the guild hall several times at the same moment and there had never been any scents or scenes to give away a bad past. She would have been maybe ten, still a kid.

"Once, a few tried to rob the shop I was in with my mother." she glances to the side, her right arm coming up to rub over her left elbow as if she was nervous talking about it. "Gajeel um, he was with them but... he didn't hurt us!" she'd seen he look of anger flash over Laxus' eyes. "He actually convinced the others to leave for a better place to rob." she shrugs, nonchalantly like it wasn't a big deal, clearly there had been more to it but she wasn't going to talk about it. "I never ran into anymore after that. The guild disbanded soon after and Oak Town's really nice now…"

Something about the way she'd said Gajeel's name, like he was hero, or she had respect for the slayer, hit Laxus wrong in the chest and head. A growl, rumbling low in his throat, wanted to let loose and he struggled to suppress it for a moment. Shocked by the very rare outburst of his usually calm instincts, Laxus spun on his heel and continued back up the path toward the training fields. He could almost feel his scales wanting to form and harden over his arms and chest, as if the sound of Gajeel's name on her lips had set off his dragon. Which was stranger than anything yet, his dragon was clam, quiet, silent. Rarely making an appearance unless the situation was dire enough, he needed that boost of strength and power. This wasn't a battle of life or death and there wasn't an army at his front coming for his family and guild. This was a blue haired mage with his element that posed no bigger threat at this point then to knock out the power grid for a few hours. He needed to meditate, figure this out, soon.


	6. Chapter 6

Ashton was scared of thunder.

Laxus wanted to release some of his own stored magical power on one of the dummies and had done so without warning the other two. He didn't think anything of it and had fired a bolt of pure lightning at the practice field. Only for the usual, cracking earth-shaking boom of his magic echo through the trees. Scattering birds from trees and screeching rabbits to flee form bushes. Then he'd heard it, barely, with his advanced hearing in that split second, shed screamed. He'd turned his head, stormy grey-blue eyes finding Ashton crab walking backwards on the grass and dirt as if she'd fallen and refused to take her eyes off the thing that had frightened her.

He wanted to groan and throw his head back, rant and cuss to the wind. Of course. Of-fucking-course. She was scared of fucking thunder. How in the hell was he going to train a lightning mage, to not be afraid of the aftermath of her own magic? A magic that couldn't simply be ignored because it was elemental magic, harnessing and controlling that type of magic was imperative. Instead of being uncaring, like he wanted to be, Laxus reached up and scrubbed his hands over his face before striding over to Ashton. She was still on the ground, Bickslow crouching nearby but not too close.

"You alright?" she gulps once, gathers herself for a moment and then nods.

"That was loud…" Laxus feels his lips twitch a tiny bit at the corners, yeah it was pretty loud. He was so used to it, he didn't even notice the boom anymore. Neither did the Thunder Legion at this point. He didn't offer to help her stand and sent Bix a glare to keep him from doing that very thing. She needed to toughen up some and offering help already would set a pattern for it. "It was a lot more than I was expecting." A light dusting of pink colored her cheeks and Bickslow cackled his hearty laugh.

"You should have seen your face though! It was like bleurgh!?" Bickslow did what he thought was an imitation of her face as she had fallen but because of his visor, he just seemed to be flailing about in an act. Laxus rolled his eyes, but the effect of Bickslow's crazy antics had the nervousness leaving her face.

"Sure you're not scared? Gotta be honest, if you're scared of thunder you're shit out of luck. Because with lightning, comes thunder." Laxus crosses his arms and tilts his head, looking down his nose at her. And finally, he can see it. Standing in the sun's bright morning rays, reflecting off of her white eyes, he can see the faintest little sliver of a line. Her pupil is there, but then it's gone with a blink and a fraction of an atom's movement, the light refracting it is gone and he loses sight of that tiny miniscule sight of her eyes behind the ghostly color.

"It just caught me off guard, it won't happen again." And there's some conviction in her voice, reminding him of the other day when she'd snapped at him. Showing that there was in fact, a mage with bite under there somewhere.

"Good, now It's your turn." That made her blanch, Laxus did chuckle then. Pointed her towards the dummies scattered over the field. "Pick one, just like the first time." Bickslow moved a small distance away and started climbing the poles set up on the other side of the field, more to keep distance than to actually train there. Ashton moved to go further into the field but Laxus stopped her just inside the sands with a hand on her shoulder. "From here." She nods once and then looks out to the field, finding her target.

Laxus can feel it this time, now that he's expecting it and wanting to focus on her build up of power. There're sparks flashing over her skin, setting the soft wisps of hair that had fallen from her braid to dance across her cheeks and forehead as if in a breeze. He was mesmerized by it for a second, the color itself catching his eye. Of course, it made sense, his own hair had been brown at birth but with the lacrima and his magic, it had been bleached an electric yellow blonde. Must be why her hair was the same shade as the flickering zaps over her skin.

Now he watches as she inhales, and as the breath leaves her lungs on the exhale, a stripe of blue and white lightning streaks from the clear sky with an eerie silence that has Bickslow pausing the watch in confusion. The dummy, runed as it was, still barely stood on its pole. Thin tendrils of smoke spiraled haphazardly before flames could erupt and the magic of the runes fixed the dummy. There hadn't been any sound from the strike hitting the ground.

Laxus grins wide though. She didn't need an agonist or any kind of holder item to start off with, she simply looked where she wanted it to go. Looking could easily become feeling where to throw the strikes, even when there was no light to see. Ashton tilted her head up and to the side, looking up at him with her bottom lip bitten in her teeth. As if she was looking for praise, hell, he'd give it. She'd done just what he wanted and proved she had some semblance of control already, though she probably didn't even realize. Laxus let loose a low whistle before he actually turned his head to glance down at her from the corner of his eye. His lips on that side lifted up into a smirk.

"You, Blitz, got some kick to ya." She smiles, dusting of pink coloring her cheeks again. He scents the air with a small inhale, her scent was less potent with ozone now that she'd released a lot of it. He didn't want to push her, but he also wanted her to start expanding her magic reserves.

"Two more times, try to use the same amount of magic as that one."

Ashton turns to the field, her hands clench into loose fists at her hips. Same as before she inhales and, on the exhale, she releases her strike on a different dummy. The second one missed the dummy completely, sparks and fissures of burnt sand spread out from the contact point with the ground. She grunts, an unhappy little sound in the back of her throat. It was near the same mount of power, a tick more if Laxus had to guess. She was sweating, Laxus could scent the heat gently coming from her body next to his and the salty taste of it mixed with her ozone scent had the back of his mouth watering. His fangs pricked the inside of his gums as they sharpened and Laxus nearly missed her next strike onto the field. The flash of blue made his eyes narrow so he could see, the dummy was decimated. Nearly nothing left, the ground around the pole it had sat on was burnt black and smoking heavily.

Then from the corner of his eye he saw her fall in slow motion. Her knees dropping her to the ground as she panted quietly, tiny frizzles of pale blue scattered over her sweat slick skin. Her magic reserve was most likely nearly empty by now. He'd asked and she'd done her best, that's all he wanted for now. But her face was paled more than usual, and she couldn't quite catch her breath. Eyes narrowed, Laxus knelt at her side and touched her bicep just as she was falling. His fingers wrapped around her skin there and he was jolted as his lightning was pulled from his own body and spattered over her own. Her breathing evened some but then she just went limp. Leaving Laxus confused and a hundred questions going through his mind as yellow and blue streaks over her. Without much thought, he grabbed Ashton up in his arms, gathered his magic and zapped them to the balcony of his office.


	7. Chapter 7

Laxus' dragonesque roar shook the very foundation of the guild as he booted his office door open. The knob slamming itself into the wall to stick there, Laxus moved swiftly through to the infirmary on the same floor but across to the other side of the guild. Wendy came running, her soft scent of herbs and spring breezes came towards him. They met just inside of the infirmary where Laxus shuffled Ashton's unconscious form to one of the cots covered in fresh grey sheets.

"What happened?" Wendy's small hands were already softly glowing with her healing magic, her eyes focused on the blunette laying there. No obvious signs of injury on her visible skin but her entire body was still flicking tiny shocks of blue and yellow outwards. Wendy winced, a twitch of the corner of her eyes, as one sot into her forearm.

"She pushed her magic too far, emptied her it out too quick." His voice was gruff as he watched Wendy glance up at him only to look back when Ashton started to wake up. Finally, the yellow of his own electricity fizzled out and her own did as well after a few more moments. He'd think about that later, after consulting with Levy. A soft huff of breath came from Ashton's mouth and she arched her neck with a groan.

"Hey, Ashton?" Wendy gently helped the older girl sit up on the cot. Confusion clear on her features as she opened her eyes to look at Wendy. The younger blue haired girl blinked once at the shocking color and sight of Ashton's eyes but then gave no more reaction. "How are you feeling?" Wendy's magic still glowed softly form her hands towards Ashton.

"Like I got hit by lightning…again." She murmurs the last word as if in a whisper to herself, and Laxus narrows his eyes.

"You got hit by lightning?" Ashton's entire body sort of locks up for a half second, the sharp scent of poison in the air around her. Fear. Then it's gone and like a wisp of perfume it barely lingers in the air.

"Yeah, it's how I got my magic."

Wendy's hands went to her mouth as she gasped in shock. "How?! How are you alive?" Ashton only shrugs once and grips the edge of the bed for a moment more, her eyes downcast. When no one said anything else, Ashton goes to stand, only to find her legs felt like freshly made jelly and down she went. Her elbow caught in Laxus big long fingered hand to hold her up before she fell completely to the floor. She didn't meet his eyes and he scented a bitter tang to her that he couldn't quite place.

"You should rest, your magic was severely depleted too quickly and it needs to build back up." Wendy offered the other blunette. Ashton gave in when Laxus sort of released her in a way that she sat back on the cot, heavily. The intent was obvious without him saying a single word more, rest. So, she only nodded at the sky dragon slayer who could still feel the fatigue staining her scent with dulled undertones.

Wendy left after a few more moments, Ashton was resting fine and the little blue slayer wanted to get some juice from the kitchen to help the lightning mage. As the door closed Ashton flicked her gaze up to the hulking blonde that was leaning his shoulders against a wall across from her and then looked back down, her fingers twisting and pulling at the small drawstrings at the cuffs of her sweatpants near her ankles. A fidgeting sort of movement that had Laxus, almost, annoyed for some reason.

"Gonna give me the rest of the story now?" his deep baritone voice made Ashton sink, curl, some into herself for a few moments and she looked to the side and out the windows to the right of the room. He wanted to know, right then and there, the story behind her gaining her magic. And he wanted to hear it from her own mouth and not second-hand by someone else. Though he doubted finding someone nearby that knew, she was miles and miles from her home of Oak Town. When she stayed silent, he asked again. "Blitz." It was a soft sound of her name, but it held the undertones of a dragon's growl. With a heavy sigh ashton leaned back on the cot and crossed her arms around her middle.

"I was out with some friends and it started raining. A storm came in from nowhere and we started to run home." she leans back some more and looks up, Laxus can see her the corners of her eyes sort of pinch as if in pain but trying to hide it. "There's this patch of road that's fields on both sides, no trees or houses and you have to go through there because it's the only road back into town. I heard a crack of thunder and then…" she shudders. "It _hurt_, it hurt so much."

And Laxus can imagine. The shock of a small bite of electricity is enough to kill some people. If she was hit with a full strike, which he's assuming she was because it absorbed into her body to turn into magic, again, he needed to consult Levy and Freed on this, she would have felt so much vivid blinding pain. Thankfully it should have only lasted a few moments. Lightning will change targets fairly quickly, she most likely had passed out soon after.

"Nobody could come near me to check on me, there was so much still in my body that anyone that came close was shocked horribly. It took two days for it to be sucked back into me." Her voice tapers to such a soft sound, only Laxus could hear it at the moment. "They thought I was dead… I couldn't move. I couldn't even blink or twitch a muscle." He can _hear_ her screams she must have wanted to release. Laxus was a blunt man, if anyone asked, he would answer honestly that he's killed people before. His time away from the guild was a dark one. But he knew exactly what she was saying. Just enough lightning to immobilize but strong enough to last for days. Slowly eating away at a person with such burning pain, they die. So, it hadn't switched targets when it hit her, it had stayed in the host.

She was quiet now, Laxus hadn't moved from his easy pose against the wall, her gaze was back to the window and he asked something that had started to wiggle in his brain about her. "Why'd you leave home?"

Ashton turns to flicker her gaze to him, and just like earlier, he can almost see that tiny sliver of a line that's her pupil and iris. "I released it once before, on accident. Just after it happened… I nearly killed my little brother and my mom." She turns back to the window, moving her knees up to her chest and curling her arms around her knees as she looks out to the blue sky. "He has a heart murmur now, and my mom, her face was scarred badly."

Realization dawned in his mind and Laxus closed his eyes in thought. The fact she'd unintentionally hurt her sibling and mother, he got the idea as to why she wasn't home. "Town run you off?" she nods, once. Laxus nods once in understanding, he wouldn't push anymore on her today. He'd give her the space she so obviously wanted but was too polite to ask. That's why she was here, that's why she had been searching for a guild to help her. "Get some rest, this doesn't change your training." He stands to his full height off the wall and pops the muscles in his neck. "And eat lunch." He can hear the sot rumblings of her stomach form this close proximity; her magic had eaten through what she'd ate from breakfast. Her cheeks flush and there's moment where her jaw ticks, but she nods at him as he goes to leave.


	8. Chapter 8

"Freed." Laxus gently called to his green-haired teammate and longtime friend as he rounded the corner to the second story lounge for S-class mages. There were more than just his team that was S-class, but rarely did the others come up here and that was fine. Freed's eyes lifted and stood from his table laden with books, the runes about him fading from existence as she straightened his dress shirt and came to stand beside his team leader.

"What is it Laxus?"

"Need you to research some things for me." Freed, composed as usual, still tilted his head in question. They didn't have a mission coming up, so really there was no need for Freed to research much of anything. "Blitz got her magic by being struck by lightning, find out how. I'm going to get Levy to help you." With that, Laxus turned to leave without another word but before he turned the corner, he looked over his shoulder from the corner of his eyes to freed. "and keep it quiet." Freed nods and Laxus is gone.

He had another place to go, and his boots led him to his grandfather's office door. He didn't knock, Laxus was in a mood where he didn't care for decorum and he needed to talk to Gramps, now. When small eyes meet his they went from annoyed to worried in a blink of an eye. Laxus made sure the door was closed before he walked forward, his palms slapped the top of his grandfather's desk and he glared down at the small man that was a wizard saint.

"Did you know the reasons she had for leaving home." Makarov gave him a quizzical look before setting down the papers in his hands, his desk was covered in them and Laxus glanced down to see the old man was going over the last seasons expense reports. The guild was doing well, very well.

"As far as I was concerned, she was a young mage who very much needed this guild's guidance."

"But you never sat and asked her about what happened?" Makarov gave his grandson a narrowed glare. "Because I just found out why she's really here, why she was looking for a guild with a lightning mage." Laxus voice toned deeper, a hint of a dragon's growl under every word.

"M'boy, take a breath and calm down. Tell me what you've found out." Makarov knew when to push his grandson, now was not one of those times. Laxus was showing signs of his dragon side surfacing which didn't happen really at all. He'd heard the roar not a half hour ago but had simply thought it was Natsu or Gajeel into some sort of skirmish once again. Not his own grandson. So, Makarov was intrigued by what should be making Laxus so out of shape.

Laxus stood straight again, stepping back to slouch into one of the armchairs in front of his grandfather's desk. His hands lifting to scrub down his face as he blew out a heavy breath through his nose. Controlling his emotions had always come fairly easily, he learned early on in life to stow away anything that made you weak and stay strong and silent. After the bout of years and trials starting from Tenrou Island onward, he'd learned to express himself more, but he mostly keeps his stoic nature. Now, he was angry and upset, more than anything had got to him in a long time. All because of a small white-eyed, blue-haired girl with neon static flashing over her skin.

"Laxus." Makarov gently coaxed and then Laxus found himself explain the past two days to his grandfather in quite a bit of detail. Making sur he left out the instances his dragon seemed to grow more present while near the blunette. When he was down, Makarov sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers in front of him to gently tap at his small chin.

"I'm curious, as to why Orga refused to train her in the first place. There must be something else that had happened for him to refuse her because I agree with you. He was a fool to let her go from Sabertooth, they need more mages and lightning is a rare one." Makarov sat in thought another moment and sat forward. "I think I'll make a visit to Sabertooth, find out some things. You should continue her training as planned, though make sure she doesn't empty her magic reserve so quickly again. You know that..."

"...can cause sickness and hurt a mage if done too often, yeah I know Gramps. Why I took her straight to Wendy." He knew the consequences of constant magic drain had on a mage, he wouldn't subject Ashton to that, but he needed her to keep working on expanding her magic. It was a fine line that he would walk if it meant she could control her power faster and felt more confident about it.

"You say your magic leaped over to her when she went unconscious?" Laxus nodded once. "Hmm, I would consult Porlysica about that m'boy." Laxus groaned, an almost growl as he threw his head back and closed his eyes. He and that woman butted heads horribly, they couldn't go without a yelling match of iron wills each and every time they met in the same vicinity. He'd put it off, as long as he could. See what Freed and Levy came up with before he even tried going to the pink haired bitch of a healer. Makarov chuckled softly at the action from his grandson but then Laxus left the office and a smile dropped from his lips "I think a small trip to Oak Town is in order as well…"

When Laxus went back to the lounge, he found Freed and Levy already there. The green-haired rune mage must have searched out the little blunette script mage. There were a few books on the wide table and Freed had runes set about the Laxus recognized as speed readers similar to Levy's glasses. They didn't look happy though, usually when the two bookworms were in the same room, they were happily chatting about what they had been researching.

"What have you found?"

Freed and Levy made a look to each other and Laxus crossed his arms, trying in vain to suppress an unhappy growl from his throat.

"There have only been a handful of cases where people have survived being struck by lighting in a natural case. Usually they are scarred, heavily, from the strike and have some form of breathing problem after. But there have been no cases where the strike has given the person magic over the lightning." Freed looked solemn and Levy's face was contorted a bit.

"We thought maybe it was because she could have had some magic abilities, but they never grew, that the lightning woke that magic inside of her." Levy started to explain but then she bit her lip and sighed. "But we checked her sur name and it's one of the few families with literally no magic in their blood."

Laxus stilled, because he was hoping what levy just suggested had been the case of Ashton surviving the lightning and gaining her magic. It made sense, but it didn't fit. If she didn't have magic abilities deep in her bloodline, then she should have died or survived but with no magic. Yet she did survive, and she did gain magic abilities.

"So, how'd she gets her magic then?" Freed and Levy didn't have an answer for him, that in itself was disheartening. This never happened, someone always came up with the answer. But they had nothing.


	9. Chapter 9

Ashton was sneaking out of the guild. She knew Wendy, the sweet young preteen, had other things to do and couldn't watch her all day. She didn't want to be in the guild any longer and didn't want to embarrass herself further by ordering lunch at the bar. Or really, she had been trying to when she'd been cornered. It wasn't Laxus either, it was Gajeel. Ruby eyed, black maned Gajeel Redfox. And Ashton fought a fissure of trepidation at the tall broad sight of him standing in her way. She had never been afraid of Gajeel, when she'd seen him as a child, but his presence wasn't one of rainbows and butterflies either. Like Laxus, he commanded the room he was in without any flamboyance. It was the dragon slayer part of them, she supposed, intimidating by nature. Ashton hadn't had a chance to talk to the studded slayer since she joined the guild. She didn't see a need, but as red eyes narrowed, she saw recognition in them she felt bare without her glasses to shield her pure colored eyes.

"Goin' somewhere?" his voice rumbled, similar to Laxus but instead of the rumbling of thunder it was more the deep rattling of bolts, metal grating against itself.

"Home, I used too much magic and fainted. Just gonna rest for the night." She went to move past him, but Gajeel sidestepped and continued to block her path while still keeping the same distance between them. Damn long legs.

"Umm, is there something you need?" Ashton felt her voice lower and try to waver, she just wasn't forward and hated being rude, but she wanted to leave.

Gajeel's eyes locked onto hers, they didn't blink for the longest time, and Ashton got the sense she was prey for a split moment. Her nerves were getting to her, and there were tiny sparks of neon blue tickling at her fingertips. Barely there but Gajeel was so focused on her that he noticed them, and the barely caught by the naked eye flashes of bright yellow mixing with the blue. Ashton actually watched, curious, as Gajeel tilted his head to the side a fraction and his nostrils flared wide as he took a deep inhale through his nose. When his eyes flashed back to her, he had this look she couldn't identify. Then he side-stepped her and let her have access to the back doors of the guild.

Ashton didn't move, she felt like she should stay where she is for the moment. Gajeel was looking at her like he wanted to say something or figure something out. The sparks become more prominent for a moment before Ashton felt her fatigue flare up once more, then they fizzled out once more. Though she still felt the tingling of them linger on her fingers. Using her magic today had let her become more in tuned with its feel. Gajeel finally started walking away, without saying a word, and tuned the corner at the end of the hall. Ashton shook her head once, more confused then ever and filed the weird encounter for later thought. Right now, her stomach was growling, and she been given an order.

On her way home, which was actually in the newer section of fairy hills thanks to all the new members in the guild, Ashton stared at her hand as she walked. She felt drained, sure, shed never released her magic intestinally. Doing so had really taken it our of her, she hadn't realized how energized she felt normally until all that magical energy was nearly gone from her body. So, feeling drained sure, but she wanted to see it again. That frizzle sort of mini lightning bolts that skittered over her skin like cool streams of concentrated mist. She wanted to feel it.

So Ashton wasn't paying much attention at all to where she was going, and only being in the small city of magnolia for a few months, didn't know the roads well enough by heart. She'd forgotten there was no barrier along the canal, and because of that, she walked right into the low row of stones, tripping over them in her workout shoes. Eyes wide, she heard the shouts of a few fisherman as she fell shoulders ad head first into the water. She didn't struggle much, thankfully she actually did know how to swim, and the canal wasn't terribly deep. But ashton never got the chance to rise to the surface, something gripped the back of her sweatshirt where the fabric was thick because of her hood. Bodily yanked from the water, sputtering and struggling to grip the sweatshirt about her neck before the wet fabric choked her to death, ashton met the stormy eyes of Laxus. His thick arm was easily holding up her shorter frame in his one hand without wavering, and he had one eyebrow rose as she caught her breath.

"You got a death wish? Or are you just that oblivious?" his voice rumbled like thunder over valleys before a summer storm and ashton, thanking thank her cheeks were already pink from the chilled waters, flushed from the way his voice roamed over her senses. His voice so affecting her, it took her a long moment before she narrowed her gaze at what he had actually said to her.

She didn't give a response, through she still struggled some with keeping the fabric of her sweatshirt from strangling her to death, so she did the one thing she could think of, seeing as how laxus wasn't letting her down and still holding her like a wet puppy. She pulled her arms from the sleeves and sort of fell out of the wet garment. Her feet, socks and shoes squishing out water, slap on the ground and she can't catch her footing, so she just falls back onto her back on the smooth cobblestones of the road. Looking up at laxus from her wet blue bangs, the pale grey tank top shed worn under the sweatshirt was slicked to her like a second skin and she blushed as she catches his stormy grey eyes roaming over her torso.

Ashton stood as quickly as she could, tanking her wet hoodie from laxus hand and started walking. The blush on her skin pinker now and she held the wrinkled and dripping fabric to her torso as she walked, hating how vey step made her body move in ways she couldn't control. She wanted to run, but with wet shoes she had no hope to get very far without further embarrassment. Within a few steps the family presence came to her left side and she flicked her gaze once over her shoulder, Laxus there with his arms crossed waking along beside her like t was nothing. His eyes closed as if he knew every street by heart and backwards, he probably did actually. She kept walking for several more blocks, the apartment building was on the other side of the west park and they were just passing the entrance when Laxus spoke again.

"Your magic regenerates fast."

"What?" he turns then, catching his right eye slatted open just enough to catch a hint of the grey blue behind it

"Your magic regenerates faster than normal. That's good, you'll need that ability when you join the team." And she stops walking, at the corner of the low stone fence that surrounds the park. The noon day sun above them both, warming her damp and chilled clothes as she stares wide eyed at the lightning dragon slayer of Fairy Tail. At Laxus Dreyar, leader of the thunder legion. At the most powerful lightning mage in recorded history. He stares back at her, a quirk lifting the corner of his lips, knowing his words stopped her very breathing for more than a heartbeat or tow.

"See you in the morning blitz, dawn." And then he's walking away. A slow wide legged gait that made others simply move from his path.


	10. Chapter 10

Dawn came, and with it the rain pattering down around Magnolia. Leaving the town in a misty veil that the sun just couldn't seem to breach fully with its golden rays. It was grey and damp, sending most to work with umbrellas and raincoats while others who didn't need to leave their homes stayed inside. Bickslow opted to train at the Thunder Legion house, already there and waiting for Laxus to bring back Ashton. Laxus didn't figure she could find her way to the house yet, so he stood in the misting rain. Head thrown back and soaking in the light drops, his blonde hair damp and spiking a bit more than usual. He could feel it deep in his body, his dragon soul rumbling a low sound at the prospect of a good thunderstorm heading his way. Its been awhile since he's eaten pure lighting.

Her footsteps are light on the wet cobblestones, sneakers squeaking a bit as she comes up to the guild steps. Her hoodie is damp from the walk over and the light peach color is darkening to a full pink about her shoulders and the top of the hood above her locks of blue hair. Her eyes, white as they are, are downcast and she won't meet his gaze for more than a heartbeat. Laxus only turns and starts his way to the Thunder House. Far more content with a storm approaching then training the mage at his back. His long-legged strides making her quicken her pace to a near jog to keep up with him.

They walk in silence for a while, and Laxus enjoys that she never seems to want idle conversation, but then she seems to slow in her gait before rushing forward and standing in front of him. Causing Laxus to stop, or risk walking over her, and raises an eyebrow as she stood before him, her eyes staring straight at his chest before slowly rising to meet his stormy gaze with her white eyes. "Why did you say that?" She tries hard not to waver her gaze, but he can see it, the minute shaking of her fingers as if she's terrified of speaking to him. Which is ridiculous but he's not the softest man about, he's a slayer.

"Don't be stupid." Because he knows what she's asking about. It was a split-second choice he made yesterday, after watching her decimate his training field with barely any knowledge of how powerful she truly was. He could see it, the future, her future. Entwined with his own and his teams, where it had just been an idea, it was now decided. The best out there, in more than just Fiore, in all the kingdoms. Laxus craved the power, and now that he understood it wasn't leading the guild that he needed those years ago, it was a thirst of simple power. He wanted to be the strongest mage, he wanted a team at his back that had the push to keep up with him. Laxus sees her, blue haired and white eyed at his side beside his friends and teammates, decimating all who challenge them in the Games, and beyond. He wanted her nowhere else but there on his team.

Instead of answering further, he gently pushes past her and continues down the walk to the road that leads to the Thunder House. She follows after a moment and deep inside his mind, the dragon of his soul rumbles pleased. He ignores it, like usual because he hasn't had the time to mediate yet, walks in silence once more. Her footsteps a bit more paced to keep up with him easier, she's learning. And that's another reason why, she took direction quickly, but not because she was dumb, she took it because Laxus knew what he was doing and everything he did was teaching her something. How to keep up without wasting too much energy, how to release her energy without killing herself or others. She had a lot more to learn, and years before she could go on a mission of his class on her own, but she could get there. Laxus felt himself grinning a fraction, he couldn't wait for the Grand Magic Games in the coming early fall.

"What's on your mind?" Levy's soft voice came to Gajeel as they sat on the small porch of their home in the woods not far from the guild. The rain tip tapping on the tin metal roof and the swishing of it coming down the gutters into rain barrels to water Levy's small herb garden. He'd been quiet, which wasn't too unusual except today he was meditating outside, the mist of the rain dampened his unruly locks of black hair and he was utterly still. Communing with his dragon soul wasn't something Gajeel needed to do very often, having had a good link with it with so long already.

His rubied eyes opened a bit and took in his little mate, with her short blue hair and kind eyes, still a bit sleepy and his shirt hanging off of one of her slim shoulders. But he didn't reach for her just yet, instead he turned back to the rain. In the far distance of his advanced hearing, he could make out the roll of thunder. This storm would hit in a few hours, and it would be a rough one with the way the sky was growing dark over the mountains above Magnolia.

He'd been curious, trying to gain insight to what he'd seen the day before. Because if he was right, and he hoped he wasn't, he'd need to spend time with Laxus to get the fucker to speak to his dragon easier. The way Laxus lightning had so easily been pulled from him into the small blunette and how when she felt threatened, Laxus magic came forward unbidden. Not unlike how Levy's skin would grey if she felt scared when on a mission, his own magic coming forward to protect his mate. But Laxus hadn't gone through any of the usual posturing or courting steps he had went through with Levy, and what Natsu was still too young, and naïve, to figure out.

Levy sat at his side, a small kitchen towel now in her hands as she tried to dry his wild mane of frizzed and damp hair. A gentle rumble came unbidden from his chest, but he made no move to stop it as she smiled in that small way she did and leaned into his arm that was now curled around her small hips. "Better settle in today, gonna be a big storm." Levy glanced out to the horizon but all she saw was grey sky and misting rain. It was gentle and calm sort of morning. But she trusted Gajeel's advanced senses. He was never steered wrong.

The rain started to come down more as Laxus and Ashton made it to the house. Instead of going inside though he steered her to the field, nearly soaked now, he stood in the middle of the field and tilted his nose to the air. As he exhaled, his signature bright yellow lightning started to flicker over his skin like livewire. Ashton took a half step back in surprise, white eyes wide as she watched it whip and dance over his thick arms. His eyes seemed to glow with the power, and he turned to look over his shoulder as her, a grin on his lips and teeth flashing white. Then a crack of thunder shattered through the training field and lightning struck down at Laxus. His smile widened and his jaw opened wide. Ashton clasped a hand over her lips as she gasped. Laxus was eating the lightning, sucking it into his mouth form the clouds above as the sky darkened. Rain pelting down on them, but Ashton was mesmerized as Laxus absorbed nature's fury into his own body like he was simply breathing in the air about him.

Ashton felt it, the power of him, and she didn't even see what she was doing. Didn't see the flickers of blue skirt over her arms once, twice, then like a whip, a steak of blue struck at Laxus feet. It touched over one of the streaks coming from him, and the two melded together before exploding with a thunderous sound that nearly shook the ground at their feet. Laxus tilted his head, eyes glowing nearly white with the power of the storm coursing through him. Blue streaks of her power crackling with the yellow of his magic. A growl rose in his throat, and he lunged.


	11. Chapter 11

Bickslow heard the scream from inside the house. Felt the flare of a soul in deep, primal terror from his magic and he ran, fast as he could to the door and by the time he'd flung the heavy wood aside, he froze just outside the door. Rain pelting him harshly from the storm growing above Magnolia. Laxus and Ashton were in the middle of the training field, both soaked to the bone form the rain and winds picking up their damp hair. The familiar shade of Laxus' golden yellow lightning sparked all about them, streaks of Ashton's neon blue magic sparking along and melding with the yellow.

Laxus had Ashton wrapped in his arms, her back flush with his barrel wide chest and Bickslow could see the thin stream of red blood dripping own the side of her neck. Dragon slayers fangs sunk deep into the smaller woman's throat, her mouth open in another scream as Bickslow watched, unable to help, while Laxus seemed to pull his magic into himself and then force it into Ashton's throat. The pull of magic is so strong, and Laxus' soul so feral, that Bicklow didn't have a hope to maybe calm the slayer into releasing the blue haired woman in his death grip.

With a flash of bright white light, the lightning receded to only flickering over the tow of them. Ashton's body gone limp and Laxus holding her tight to his chest, even though his fangs still sunk into her slim neck. The slayer's eyes white with power of the storm and whatever dragon slaying magic was at work as Ashton's body seemed to glow with the amount of power inside of her flowing freely. Bickslow could see, with his seith magic, that Ashton's very soul was shifting and changing, becoming brighter and stronger than a normal souls or even a mages soul should be. It was looking exactly like a slayer's soul, or Levy's…

"Goddess, Laxus…" his whispered words reached the slayer with no issue and the blond raised his head from Ashton's throat to roar. The ground trembled and the trees shivered, winds raged and close by lightning struck from the storm. Bickslow ran forward, fearful that Laxus had completely lost it and was in some sort of rage. But the moment he came close, lightning struck inches from bickslow's body causing the seith mage to stop his movements.

Ashton whined, deep in her chest and low, a pain filled one. Her body was twitching with the amount of electricity coursing through her body and Bickslow's eyes grew wide. She could die from that much electrical energy in her small form. But Bickslow forgets that she's a lighting mage, and even though she's barely started her training, she carries so much more power inside of her than a normal mage could at her level. Bickslow watched transfixed, as Ashton's back curved and she screamed, the power flowing between her and Laxus, flaring like a heartbeat and then in a half second, was sucked back into them both.

The storm softened, the sky lightened a shade, and Laxus dropped to his knees. His chest heaved with heavy breaths, arms trembling as they held Ashton's unconscious body in them against his chest, her legs tangled under her and her blue hair plastered to her skin with the rain still pelting down, though softer then before. Laxus' eyes were filmy and still slowly shading back to their stormy grey blue, were wide and pupils blown as he stared at Bickslow.

"What… happened?"

"Dear gods.." Bickslow ran forward to slip in the mud and to get to the pair of them, his hand landing on Laxus' shoulder only for him to flinch at the contact with the slayer. The simple touch over a layer of clothes had shocked him.

Bickslow took the hand that had been shocked, and reached for Ashton's hair covered neck. Gently brushing away the damp locks to get a look at the gently bleeding wound there. Laxus' licked over his teeth, tasted the coppery film of thick blood in his mouth and tensed so badly he surely pulled muscles in his body. Slowly as he could, he handed Ashton over to Bickslow's arms, gathered his magic and zapped himself from the training field. Leaving Bickslow soaked to the bone, picking up Ashton's unconscious form from the mud.

He pushed himself hard, passed the hills behind Magnolia and into he ridged mountains and valleys. Laxus went until he didn't know where he was any longer. On unsteady legs he faced the waves of the ocean and gripped at his cropped hair. He didn't remember what he'd done, but he did at the same time. His memory of it was fresh but it wasn't him that had done that to Ashton. It hadn't felt like himself but it had as well. Confusion roiled and bubbled up in him so heavily, he dropped to his ass and stared out at the waves as they lapped at the sands at his feet. Idly he realized it was sunny here, and a bright blue sky shone overhead.

"What the hell did I do?" talking to himself, Laxus reached back up and gripped at his hair.

_You have chosen._

Laxus bolted to sit upright, glancing left and right. There was no one there. Wondering if he had finally lost it all, Laxus felt something inside of him shift over and forward. A mind image of yellow-white scales and a great horned head flashed. A great tail, tip thin and whip like, swished through the air and as it connected with the ground, lightning crashed about the dragon. Laxus was paralyzed in his spot as he saw these images and more in his head, playing one over the other and meshing together until all he saw was the giant of a beast. A dragon in all its electrifying glory, gleaming down at him from another plane.

_You fool! You ignore instinct I gift you with!_

Like a solid punch to the gut he couldn't block, Laxus' very breathed was knocked out of him as realization dawned. This was his dragon. This was the dragon whose very soul lived inside of him. Whose power Laxus called upon in battle and what made him a slayer. The dragon opened it great jaws and roared. Laxus felt the power that always resided in him flare up a million times over and nearly electrify his own body from the inside out.

_You ignore basic instructions and may have killed your chosen! You only get one, boy! One in this life!_

"What are you even talking about!?" Laxus was too much in shock of finally communing with his inner dragon that he was ignoring what was being said.

_Pray boy! Pray to all the gods that she accepts your core magic. _The dragon snarls and it sounds like multiple shouts of thunder and lightning cracking around him. _Such a fool! Seek out Metalicana's son, quickly, he will know what to do. _

"I don't understand, why do I need to find Gajeel? And what's a chosen?" his words bring the attention back to the faint taste of blood on his teeth and Laxus pauses. He'd bitten into Ashton's neck like she was prime steak.

The dragon roared angrily, shaking the very bones in Laxus body. _Fix this boy! _ Then it was gone.


	12. Chapter 12

Splashing, like a cement block hitting the muddied pathways through the trees that shrouded a small stone and metal cottage not eh outskirts of magnolia. The shucking of boots forcefully yanked from each sunk in footstep waking the slayer from his deep sleep. Rubied eyed open to slits and he carefully extricates his bulking body from the tiny female clutching to him with every limb like a primate. A mass of raven wild hair is ruffled as he pulls back deep blue curtains to reveal a figure fast approaching on foot from the path, barely recognizable through the pelting rain with Gajeel's dragon enhanced sight.

With narrowed eyes and a wave of his hand to a waking Lilli, making sure the cat stayed silent so not to wake levy, Gajeel moved through the cottage to the front door and closed it softly behind him while he waited for the figure to come further into view. Shirtless and now immune to the wetness of the raindrops on his skin, Gajeel watched as he scented the person running and could now see who it was. Bickslow, with a shock of dampened blue hair peeking from the soaked blanketed bundle he had cradled in his long arms.

"What the fuck…" Gajeel leapt from his steps to the seith mage, breathed deep through his nose and stopped just short of an inch from the woman Bickslow was carrying. The scent of heavy storms, salted rain and purest lightning came from the blanket and Gajeel looked up to lock eyes with the red gazed seith. "Where's Laxus?" no nicknames, no cussing, no foolery. Gajeel knew what was at stake in the mage's arms.

"I don't know!" Bickslow nearly creamed and Gajeels deep growl shut up the mage from making anymore loud noises. "I didn't know who to go to…" Bickslow knew better then to take the blunette to anyone else in the guild but the only dragon slayer with the best hold on his instincts. And this had everything to do with the dragon slayers, Ashton's blue golden soul told him that.

Gajeel grunted out a low growl and opened his arms, Bickslow paused but handed the unconscious woman to the iron slayer with careful movements to not jostle her. Ashtons neck was basically still bleeding and he knew the transference of power that was forced onto her being would make every fiber of her bones hurt.

Ruby met blood and Gajeel's growled low in his throat. "She's got two days before Laxus' magic will attack her from the inside out. Find him." Bickslow's eyes widened, glanced down at the pale look of Ashton's skin and nodded, turned and started running through the muck and mud once more. Gajeel felt the electricity through the blanket and water that was coming through Ashton's body. He shook his head and growled deep in his throat at what Laxus had unknowingly done.

"Fucking dumbass…" Lilli, in his larger battle form, opened the door as Gajeel turned to come back inside. His skin dripped wet on the smooth cobbled flooring, but the mess could wait until Gajeel got the blunette dry. Hating what he had to do, because levy was tired, he needed to wake her up to help him. He was NOT undressing and redressing another dragon's female, fuck no.

"I'll take her." Lilli opened his arms and Gajeel shifted Ashton to the battle formed cat. The blanket fell from her form some and Gajeel glanced at her bare arm, lowly cursing. The electric energy inside of her was already bruising her muscles, blotches of light blue purple were slowly appearing on her paled skin. "Will she be alright?" concerned was heavy on the cat's voice and Gajeel only let out a soft sigh through his nose. He didn't have an answer.

His wet feet slapped gently on the floor and he slowly opened the door to his bedroom, blinking when he saw levy awake, standing and with a mountain of fluffy towels in her thin arms. "Don't just stand there Gajeel, bring her into the bathroom so can help her." the little blunette smiled, though sleepily, and turned into the bathroom where the warm glow of lacrima lamps shone bright inside. Gajeel, always surprised by her, grunted and nodded.

After taking Ashton into the bathroom and leaving her with levy, Gajeel pulled back his wild hair and started to get dressed. He knew Bickslow could only track Laxus' soul so far before he couldn't see the slayer anymore. And most likely Laxus was so terrified of what he'd done, especially not knowing why he had done this. Gajeel needed to find Laxus before the bond forced the male back to the bluenette currently in his own den. Prepare the blonde for what was now expected of him. He mated, and there was no changing that fact. He needed to find gramps, or the thunder legion, possibly Natsu…anybody else wouldn't have the power to slow Laxus down if he went into a rampage.

Lillis smaller form crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he sat on Gajeel's dresser, the slayers bent over to tightly tie the laces of his dark metal studded boots. "Tell me how to care for her while you're gone." Gajeel was silent for long moments and didn't speak until he pulled on his rain cloak. Large hands reached up and he tightened the leather ban around his hair into a low ponytail.

"Keep her warm, lots of blankets. Shell want to nest most likely." he scrubbed a hand over his studded face and sighed through his nose. "She won't want to eat, try broth or tea. Shell probably spark a lot, I'm not sure how much he gave her, but it was too much. Luckily most of the stuff here is stone or metal, shouldn't start a fire by accident." he popped his neck, glad his magic made it possible to block certain amounts of electricity. "Levy can explain what's happening to her if I don't find him before she wakes up."

Levy came in, closing the door behind her and went over to her slayer mate. She looked up and up into his eyes and saw the determination in them. Gajeel rarely went out of his way for anything that didn't matter. So, if he was doing this, it was important. Levy nodded, smiled when Gajeel kissed the top of her head and watched as he left the small cottage, hood of his cloak over his tied back hair and he vanished into the storm around them.


	13. Chapter 13

Gajeel ran. Pushed his legs to their limit and then pushed further, steels coated his bones and molten iron stiffened his muscles so that they could push him further and further. Over hills he nearly flew, and trees stood no chance of they stood in his way. He was nearly on a rampage, following the scent of lightning and summer storms. Laxus was close he had to be, there was static in the air and scorch marks on saplings where he'd ran through the woods. The slayer could feel and scent the seith mage not far behind him.

"North west!" Bickslow shouted through the pounding rain and Gajeel easily switched directions, trusting the seith mage had a lock on Laxus' soul. Over the sound of the rain and the thunder, Gajeel could make out the mutterings of the mage behind him. "…Gods… his soul…" Gajeel knew what was happening, Laxus soul was trying to find its other half so it could merge and open its next origin source. They needed to bring the lighting slayer to the bluenette and soon, otherwise…

"There!" Gajeel barked out, gathering his legs and leaping above the trees. Strikes of lighting were prolonged, hitting the ground and forming a moving circle around the lighting slayer. Laxus large hands were gripping his hair, nearly pulling it out as he roared out into the static filled air. He was roaring, a dragon's roar coming from his puffing chest as Gajeel landed and raised a hand to stop Bickslow from coming any closer. That kind of lightning would kill the seith mage.

"What's happening?!" Laxus voice was rough, like rolling thunder asked through the moving lighting to the iron dragon slayer across the open field. Scorched grass smoked as the rain put out any fires that could spread. Wind whipped Gajeel's hood from his head and the rain quickly soaked his dark raven hair to his neck.

"You idiot! Go back to her!" Gajeel's roar was like shredding steel and barbed wire, full of force and alpha boom. Laxus' eyes flared silver and gold, Gajeel didn't flinch. "Laxus, breath. You need to calm your ass down before you start a hurricane!" and he just might, the way the winds were picking up, the cold air meshing with the heat coming from Laxus lighting strikes that continued to circle and strike around his body. He was facing magnolia though, perhaps he had been trying to go back.

The blonde slayer snarled, caught Bickslow's pleading gaze form behind the iron slayer and snarled again, trying to calm his racing heart. He felt like his chest was equally expanding and contracting at the same time and had little control over his somehow overstimulated magic. He hadn't anything near this since his first time eating pure lighting, but even that only lasted a few moments of reckless unhindered power. This was something else entirely.

It felt like hours, really it did, that they waited in concerned silence as the rain slowly stopped its harsh downpour to a light pattering and the lightning that surrounded Laxus dimmed to much smaller static bolts skittering over his form. He was gasping for breath but holding back most of the sudden influx of his power, wondering where int eh world it had all come from.

"Gajeel..."

The iron slayer knelt form a short distance, grimaced at the static roiling off the other slayer and toward his steel covered aura. "Do you know what you did?" Laxus only glanced back up at the slayer and shook his head, not really understanding why this was happening or what his inner dragon soul had snarled at him just hours ago. Gajeel sighed through his nose and bared his teeth. "You idiot, there's no time to go into details. You need to go back, now." Laxus grunted and more sparks flashed before he pulled them back into himself. "Look sparky, just come back with us. You don't have to do anything but be near her, but you gotta hurry. You gave her too much of your lightning and it's burning her from the inside out trying to get back to you."

Laxus only let his eyes widen, confused. "Blitz..." Gajeel nodded.

"Yeah, blitz. Come on Laxus, you need to move and get back, otherwise she'll die my morning light." All three glanced at the horizon and could see through the cloudy sky that it was greying, signaling very early morning. They didn't have much time. He didn't exactly know what was happening, but he felt his body stand slowly and breath, pulling as much magic back into himself so he could stand on his own two feet. Gajeel shook out some of his hair and stood as well, narrowed his gaze and until Laxus nodded that he was ready, and they made their way back. Laxus not trusting his own magic to transport him back for the time being, no telling where he'd end up.

"_Hurry boy, before you lose her." _

Laxus growled low in his throat at the voice in his mind and soul, shaking his head to hopefully rid it from his senses. Bickslow glanced at the blonde and narrowed his own gaze as they ran, Laxus soul was shifting, changing, growing. The seith mage breathed deep ad pushed himself to follow the slayers as fast as he could, he didn't like the rabid way Laxus soul was acting.

When they near the edge of the woods that Gajeel's territory started the iron, slayer let loose a booming roar that shook the dampened trees and looses several weak limbs as they rushed through the brush and vines. Knowing Lilli and levy would hear it and prepare for their arrival, hopefully leaving the bluenette alone when Laxus reached Gajeel's small cottage. He really didn't feel like rebuilding his home, again.


	14. Chapter 14

Levy's hair frizzed at the ends and there was static rolling over Lilli's soft fur, making it fluff and stand on end no matter how the small exceed tried to tame it. Tiny shocks rolled over Levy's bared arms, but she paid absolutely no mind to them, more focused on the young woman curled into a mass of blankets and quilts in the corner of her living room. The other bluenette had been so restless on her and Gajeel's bed, that Lilli had suggested to move her to the living room. Ashton had calmed down considerably, but she was now shivering so roughly the blankets curled around her were moving with her.

"what do we do?" Lilli hovered over Levy's shoulder for a moment, eyes filled with concern as bright neon blue and olden yellow sizzles of lightning crept over Ashton's covered form. They could feel the level of magic in the air and it was growing with every moment. The metal iron work of the furniture was sparking every now and then, always pointed back toward the bluenette.

Levy sighed softly, moving towards the other blue haired woman to kneel at her side. Her hand gently moving the blankets aside to see Ashton's face, scrunched up tight in pain and shivering. Her hands gripping at her wounded neck and if levy listened closely, a tiny crying whimper was leaving the woman's throat. Ashtons skin was bruising more and more, unable to keep Laxus' lightning from damaging her paled skin.

Thunder cracked outside and levy reached out to try and comfort Ashton, maybe say something to help her through this, but Ashton froze as a dragon's roar cracked through the rain and storm. From so much movement to stillness, levy backed away seconds before the front door was slammed open. Gajeel's boot leaving an imprint on the iron door but his magic immediately mending it. His footsteps heavy as more joined him, Ashton's wide eyed white gaze landing on Laxus' broad form.

His greyed eyes found her own and he moved so fast he ahs no idea what came over his body but the dragon part of his soul. She was stock still and unblinking but the moment he reached out, not even touching her, his magic started to rush back to him. The force of it causing Ashton to throw her head back and scream in agony, the magic being ripped from her body too much and the corners of her eyes started to bleed red with droplets of blood.

Gajeel yanked Levy back behind him, steel coating his arms as Laxus started to snarl low in his throat. The male's dragon was taking over, he'd expelled too much magic into the woman, and it was ripping her to shreds as it came back to him. The only thing anyone could do was hope and pray that Ashton would survive the onslaught of suddenly too much magic. Laxus' chest constricted and he yanked more blankets away. Her skin was ice cold like a winter snowstorm, and she hisses low in her parched throat as his searing hot skin touched her bare arms. Laxus gathered her up into his arms, her body weak and barely moving now as his magic steadily slowed down and the sparks died enough to not be seen by the naked eye.

Laxus could hear the snarl in his mind, could feel the miniscule vibrations in his throat that wanted to let out that roar that was building. He could hear her whines of agony, still coursing through her body as small tremors made her spine twitch and her toes curl. She felt so…tiny, in his arms, fragile.

"_wake…. Please wake up…" _

Laxus didn't care anymore, could feel how his entire body was in tune to every move and sound Ashton made in his arms, could almost feel her pain coursing through his own body. But it was easing, slowly, so slowly, but her breathing was calming, and the scent of his magic was fading from her bruised over skin. He turned on his knee, caught Gajeel's eyes and the raven maned male nodded, jerked his head to the door. Laxus didn't need anything else than that signal, the urge and need to go his own home was so strong he couldn't get out of Gajeel's cottage fast enough.

"_proper nest… too cold…"_ Laxus could hear his dragon, feel the heat of lightning in his chest of rage at himself. _"too much… can't handle it… too much bruising..." _he didn't understand anything but that he pushed way too much power into her smaller body, not exactly why, just that this so much shorter and strong willed blue haired girl, was his mate.

Laxus didn't wait to run, worried about jostling the bluenette, instead he gathered his magic and shot straight for his home on the opposite side of the city. He could feel her skin chilled and ice cold against his own and held her closer to his chest. The training sweats shed worn that morning were gone and the scent of soap and iron lingered on the oversized shorts and sleeveless top she had on now. Laxus nearly zapped them into a tree instead of the balcony at his second story bedroom he was so distracted by Gajeel's scent, however weak, was on her form.

"lax…us…" the blonde male froze and looked down, watched as ashtons head rolled back some and her eyes started to open. Revealing the brightest shimmering gold pupil to blink up at him weakly. He couldn't react for endless seconds, she had a pupil, a colored iris.

Laxus cleared his throat, Ashton winced at the sound and her neck rolled forward to lay her forehead onto his bicep. "hey…" he gently flexed his arm, Ashton moaned and continued to stay in her place against him, at least she was awake, sort of.

He didn't know what to do honestly but moved forward and closed the windowed doors to his bedroom behind him as he walked inside. His boots were tracking mud onto his carpet, his clothes were still soaked to his skin and he had a barely conscious woman in his arms. Gajeel had told him, well yelled more like, things to do once he got back to the bluenette but most of it was lost to his mindless effort to lose the ache in his chest at the time. Now that that ache was nearly gone, he focused on his dragon for once.

Ashton was still freezing cold. Blankets… Laxus bed was a mess, he rarely did much of anything but sleep on the rumpled purple silk sheets. The thick comforter was lazily folded and thrown over the footboard. But it was soft, he knew that, and Ashton's bruised skin would appreciate that. She wasn't weightless like Lucy was, but she was light in his steel corded arms as Laxus gently as he could rolled her onto the sheets, pulling the heavy covers over and up to her shoulders. Her hair was a frizzed mess and knotted at her shoulders.

He's not in control of his body, hasn't been in hours really, and found himself with his back against his padded headboard. Pulling Ashton toward him with care to lean her neck and head on his thick thigh. His hands gently threading through her knotted hair, long fingers slowly untangling the knots of the electric blue hair on her head. His throat rumbling softly a noise he'd never heard before from his own body but one he'd listen to faintly before when Gajeel nuzzled at Levy's hair or when Natsu held Lucy in a strong hug.

The rain finally died to nothing but a gentle mist for the rest of the night. Laxus couldn't sleep, only stare down at the blue haired exhausted woman in his lap as she slept and watch the sunrise through the panes of his windowed balcony doors. For the moment, not trying to overthink about what was going on or how he seemed to find himself in this situation.


	15. Chapter 15

She hurt. Like a train had hit her full steam and continued to roll over her battered body. Every joint ached as if she had been in the freezing cold for hours on end. Her muscles seemed to be tensed and as she woke up, they slowly released, causing her to hiss at the tingling feeling in her limbs and skin. She felt… like she had when the lightning had struck her, only… this was far stronger than that had been. Her fingers twitched before she found her grip on the cloth in her hands and tugged it closer, burying her nose in the warmth of the cloth and the…

Ashton's eyes shot open, her body protesting how quickly she had gone from finally relaxing to tensing every muscle once again. Her wrists trembled a fraction. She was lay on top of something far too warm and far too firm to be anything other than a larger body, not a bed. Nope, and as she blinked and tilted her head up an inch, two, three, to met the grey storms of the lightning dragon slayer, Ashton felt a trickle of lightning rush up her spine that was very different than anything shed felt so far in her short life as a mage with her magic.

She blinked again, seeming as if the moment was stretching as he felt the weight over her lower back tighten and she realized it was his thick corded arm holding her atop his chest and stomach, his palm splayed over her hip and gently touching the strip of skin bared by her clothes there. Ashton swallowed thickly, fear quickly taking over her senses.

Laxus Drayer was a womanizer, she knew that, had seen it herself from her corner of the guild hall on many occasions. She was waking up in his bed, laying on top of the much larger male and she couldn't remember what had happened after… after the lighting struck her? Again?

"Hey, easy…" his voice, smooth water trickling over pebbles, startled her so much she went to escape his warmth, to push herself off his solid chest and away rom the scent of rainstorms and hurricanes that as invading her senses so strongly. His cologne was strong...

Ashton didn't get too far, only few inches before the hand on her hip solidified and his other hand came forward to cup her cheek in his large palm. The touch sent and electric bolt under her skin and she gasped, barely suppressing the shiver that shook down her spine at the contact. She did stop moving though and locked eyes with Laxus again.

"Damn… like lookin' at a pile of gold…" her eyes scrunched up, still trying to figure out why his touch calmed her so much and why he was… wait…

"What?" Laxus' lips quirked at the corner and his thumb brushed over the apple of her flushed cheek softly.

"Gold, you got golden eyes, Blitz."

Ashton blinked, blinked again, then tore herself off the slayer. She paused only for a second to spot a door and the corner of a shower before she bolted and frantically searched for a light switch. When she found the little flicker on the wall she blinked in the fluorescent lights and found the mirror across from her and stumbled backwards till her back hit the shower door with a clatter. Hand to her mouth as she stared at the blue haired woman across from her.

Gold, shimmering molten gold shone in her eyes. She stared for who knew how long. Long enough that she didn't notice Laxus softly lean on the door frame and look at her reflection, locking eyes with her through the mirror.

"How?" her voice was tiny, scared as she blinked and locked eyes with her own reflection gain. Hand trembling as she went forward and touched the mirror. Gaze trailing over her face and when she looked past the terrifying scene of her own eyes with color, she noticed why her body was in so much aching pain. colorful deep bruises marked over her skin in odd shapes and streams. As if lightning had dragged over her flesh and in its path her skin purpled and blued.

Shimmer caught her gaze and ashtons tilted her head to the side, on her neck was something shiny and as she went to touch it with her fingertips, she heard Laxus breath in sharply through his nose. A sound shed never heard come from his chest and her knees locked din place before she could drop to them on the tiled floor. Laxus exhaled through his nose and Ashton turned more, pulling her hair from her neck and with wide eyes she stared at the flickering golden and white scales dotting over her bruised skin. Spanning from beneath her ear to nearly her shoulder. And in the middle, a red and scabbing over wound that looked like an animal bite but…

"We should talk." Laxus' voice was so soft Ashton almost didn't hear him. She turned her scared wide gaze to his own and he stood from the doorframe, a tight-lipped frown on his face as he turned and headed to the trunk at the end of his huge bed. His big body sitting down heavily and his hands scrubbing over his face as he stared at the floor near her feet when she came closer.

"Laxus what's… what's going on? I'm… I don't understand…" Ashton's arms wound around herself and she just now noticed she wasn't even in her own clothes. The matt black sleeveless shirt was far too large for her and nearly hung off one shoulder, she shorts on her hips were snug though and she wondered whose they were and how got changed. Or why she was changed?

Laxus sighed through his nose and growled softly before looking up and taking his hands from his face.

"I claimed you." Her neck pulsed…

Ashton blinked at him. "What?"

Laxus kept staring at her, willing her to understand and finally the wheels started to slowly turn in her head because she reached up and gently touched the glittering skin at her shoulder. The slayer sucked in a breath and was suddenly wrapping her up in his arms, his nose to the crown of her blue hair and Ashton gasped at the proximity.

"I claimed you, Blitz, you're mine." Her neck warmed and her body melted into his arms.

Oh shit…


	16. Chapter 16

Once he'd released her from his grip, he sat them both down on the end of his bed, he'd started explaining things like dragon slayers, generations of those slayers and the few and rare ways those slayers came to be. How he had very little contact with the dragon soul in his own body that gave him his magic and saved his life as a young child. Phrases when he explained how he hadn't planned any of this, that he had no control over his dragon. But the thing that kept ringing in Ashton's ears…

Dragon's mate.

"What does that even mean?" she mumbled to herself, hands reaching to cover her eyes as she leans her elbows on her knees, suddenly so tired she felt she could just curl up and sleep for days. Laxus stopped speaking and sighed through his nose, a large hand scratched at the back of his neck as he exhaled once more.

"Didn't pay much attention when iron dick married the bookworm. Said a few things about it but didn't pay much attention." Ashton groaned and blew her frizzed and tangled hair from her face from between her fingers. "But," Ashton glanced up and moved her hands from her face, her golden gaze shocking the slayer for a half moment before he continued. "I know there's no going back at this point."

"So, what? Now I'm like your woman or something? Do I even get a choice in this?!" suddenly Ashton was on her feet and glaring at the slayer. Even with him seated on the bed she was just at eye level standing in front of him. Her arms spread wide as she screamed the last few words at his face. If Laxus would have blinked he'd have missed the way her eyes brightening and lightning danced over her bared arms, the way his mark on her neck pulsed without a touch and his entire self-focused wholly on the young woman in front of him.

"What if I didn't want this Laxus?! I don't understand anything that's happening and I'm…" she growled out in frustration and started to pace back and forth in front of him, arms and hands moving with her mumbling to herself.

She was stopped, arms slid around her torso causing her to inhale sharply at the sudden contact but then the scent of rainwater, fresh and crisp, hit her nose and she closed her eyes as tears started to form. "I'm scared…" his arms tightened around her and Ashton found herself clutching to his shirt as she sobbed, her knees giving out and Laxus easily hoisting her up to sit her back on the bed in his lap. This should have made her pause, should had been a warning in her head to sit in a man's lap like this. A man she barely really knew. But her neck pulsed clear into her heart and there was a rumbling sound coming from Laxus chest where her ear lay against his sternum.

"We'll figure it out… ya hungry?" it took her a moment to calm and she sniffled softly, using the overly large short on her chest to wipe at her eyes. Laxus let her climb off him on her own and she followed him through his home, down the stairs to a kitchen made for a ten people. The slayer led her to the breakfast bar and pointed to the barstools, nearly chewing his lip as he watched from the corner of his eye while she tried to climb onto the overly tall stool. Everything in his house was made for his stature, so it was taller everywhere.

When bacon started to pop on the stovetop and coffee brewing filled the air, Ashton tapped on the marbled countertop with her fingertips. "What happened? To make you, ya know..." she gestured to her neck when he looked over at her.

The slayer sighed through his nose, which was becoming apparent to the blue haired woman was one of his quirks. "We were working on your magic, right?" Ashton furrowed her brow and tried to remember that last morning and finally she nodded. "You pulled out a lot, enough to surprise me…" Laxus seemed to be looking for the words to say so Ashton stayed quiet and tried to remember what had happened, it was fuzzy. "Started storming overhead and I went to eat a bolt of lightning, didn't even feel your magic seepin' out toward me." He turned and set a plate of crispy bacon on the counter between them. "Our magics touched and from there I guess I lost all control."

Ashton slowly chewed a piece of bacon and stared at the counter in front of her, hands nervously fidgeting. "It's my fault then… because I couldn't control my own magic…"

Laxus stopped her before she could go on, more tears gathering at her eyes. The gold orbs turning wide as the slayer reached over with both hands and gently wiped her tears away in a moment of tenderness she didn't know how to react. "Been arguing with my dragon for a bit now, bout you. I think it was gonna happen at some point." Confusion marred her features and Laxus only grinned boyishly at her, a quirk of his lips and shine in his pale grey eyes. "Promised Gramps I wouldn't fuck with your training so was keeping my distance already. Looks like I skipped a few steps..."

The door, directly to the left of the room, burst open with a slam and the master of Fairy Tail marched his way inside Laxus' house. "You stupid brat, I told you to stay away from her! I warned you not to involve yourself with a new mage and…" the master's tirade was stomped into nothing as Laxus' body vaulted over the marble island to stand protectively in front of Ashton's confused person. A deep angry snarl ripped form Laxus' chest and yellow white static was crawling over his arms and face.

"Get. Out." Laxus' voice was marred by the near never-ending snarl from his own chest, his lips forming wrong over his teeth where the sharp ends of fangs were dropping lower and sharper than normal. The sound of it made Ashton's neck pulse with… she felt fear, she felt the strongest urge to hide either behind Laxus or dart behind the solid island. Something wanted her to hide, to find safety in the face of a threat.

"Laxus, calm down…" Makarov's anger was snuffed out and he held up his hands in calm movements.

The slayer only stepped forward, a lightning blast gathering in his mouth as a roar was building and the only thing that stopped him from possibly deeply injuring his own grandfather was arms gripping around his wide waist and chest, flat palms pressing into him as a shorter body was crammed into his back. The roar gathering in his throat quickly snuffed itself out, but he still stood rigid and angry in front of Makarov.

"Master, I think you should leave…slowly." Ashton's voice came from behind the slayer and while Makarov wasn't keen on leaving the girl alone with his grandson after what Gajeel and Levy had explained to him just an hour ago, he hadn't seen his grandson like this, ever. The old man backed out of the kitchen and kept his steady pace until he was outside the door with it wide open.

Laxus sprung forward and slammed the door in his grandfather's face. The solid deadbolt sunk into the doorframe and signaled a sort of finality to the master that he would not be talking to his grandson today.


	17. Chapter 17

Laxus turned and had her pinned against the kitchen counter before she could blink. Ashton's shorter legs were dangling at the knees, her thighs spread wide and Laxus crowded her in. His left palm flat on the marble counter while the other was slipping around her hips completely to grip at the opposite hip. His face shoved into the hollow of her throat by her shoulder and his nose pressing against her mating mark. Electric pulses spread over her skin and she shuddered, a tiny gasp of surprise finally escaping from her lips as the sudden movement caught up with her cognitive thought. She knew dragon slayers moved fast, they were dragons. But she had never seen it like this, she'd barely blinked once and they were ten feet away from where they'd been standing.

Ashton didn't know what to do, Laxus was snuggled into her throat, his body caging hers in to the countertop and even with her sitting there, he was still towering over her. Her back arched to fit against his chest, then she felt it. The trembling in the hand at her hip, the way his nose flared with his stuttered breathing. Laxus was shaking, just enough to be noticed.

"Laxus..." he didn't react besides an infinitesimal tightening on her hip by his spread palm. Its wasn't enough to hurt, just strong enough to know the strength there. "Ummm…" Ashton, without knowing what to do, did the next best thing. She followed her gut.

Her arms slipped around Laxus' chest and gripped at his back gently, her back arched a bit more so she could form to his chest more. After another moment, Laxus lips brushed against her neck, on the specks of flecked yellow scales and she groaned low in her throat without conscious thought of it. He shifted, doing it again and splaying the palm at her hip to her lower back and pulling her spread legs more towards his hips. Ashton gasped at the sudden feeling of Laxus groin against her own.

She turned beat red. Laxus was hard as steel in his sleep pants, and he was gently grinding her against him. Shocks of pleasure rocked through her from the slight contact and she squirmed, not knowing how to handle to onslaught of emotions or the feeling building in her lower half. Let alone the heat that started to build between her thighs. Laxus' free hand slid up her side, his thumb gently caressing the underside of her breast but moved to settle between her shoulder's blades and up until his fingers tangled in her blue locks of hair.

"Smell so good…" Laxus finally spoke, his voice deep, rumbling. It sounded like slow rolling thunder before a mid-summer storm, and it made her spine shiver. His lips moved to cares the scales over the mark again and then moved up to the shell of her ear. He took one last deep inhale and held her closer for a moment, before slowly releasing her enough that Ashton's hands slip from his back to land awkwardly at his hips.

Grey blue met gold and Laxus blinked several times. Laxus seemed to lose the haziness that was filming over them little by little. Though his hands didn't move other than the hand at the small of her back slipping up to cradle her small cheek in his palm. Thumb brushing over the apple of her cheek. A soft little sound came from his throat that was like a chuckle. "Sorry 'bout that, sweetheart..."

Ashton's heart melted. His voice, the soft way he was gazing at her. It was not looking; it was gazing with something that she did not understand. Something she could not quite grasp but it made her heart drum erratically in her chest, it made her skin feel alive without her magic running over it. She leaned into the hand at her cheek, and if possible, Laxus eyes lit up more. A little scrunching at the corners where she could now see what looked like a boyish smile on her otherwise very serious and stoic face.

"Are you alright now? You got a bit… growly, for a minute there." Laxus scowled at her, his hand leaving her cheek to poke at the tip of his in a moment of softness he was still having.

"I did not get growly, I roared."

"No, if you had roared, Master would have been vaporized." His scowl deepens and he is silent for a moment. A soft squeeze to her thigh and he moves more away from her, instead bodily picking her up by her hips and moving her to the stool she had been in before. Abandoned plate of breakfast now righted and set in front of her.

"Better eat. I'm going to go grab a shower." He lightly chucked his knuckles under her chin before turning and moving across the house to vanish up the steps. Leaving Ashton to stare at the archway in confusion and a blush still on her cheeks.

Ashton picked at her plate, the eggs were cold and mushy now, but the bacon was still crispy. She was confused, addled. Ashton was not much educated in the ways of relationships, not really. She had never had any interest in boys, let alone how they could make a woman feel. Not even when she'd been a teenager. But Laxus made her feel. And she did not know how to cope with that feeling that had been building in the pit of her belly just moments ago. Not one bit.

Laxus was a man, a man of men really. He was tall, broad and strong beyond belief, has a chiseled jaw and the kind of abs you could eat off. His thighs were big as tree trunks and the sheer muscle of his arms wasn't humanly possible. Ashton wouldn't say he's unattractive, quite the opposite. But she'd never enjoyed the way he looked, not really. Because she didn't know how. Shame and embarrassment caused her cheeks to blush and she pushed her plate away, standing while shaking her head to clear her mind. She hates being reminded of her sexual experience, which was none.

Ashton's arms wrapped loosely around her midsection and she wandered the house. Living rooms with big sectional couches and televisions, soft fluffy rugs over what looked like hardwood floors. "Nice place…" her fingers touched over small succulent plants living in the windowsills in small clay pots. Warm sunlight filtering down on her skin warming it.

She felt him, a charging in the air and she turned her head to look over her shoulder to Laxus leaning against the archway of the living room, golden blonde hair damp and spiking up in unruly locks. A fresh maroon colored short sleeve shirt on his torso over deep dark grey sweats and bare feet. His gaze was locked on her own and she blushed under it but was unable to look away. Even as he slowly stalked over to her, stood close enough she could feel the heat coming off of him. His hand reached and touched her cheek, stroking over it until it reaches her ear and tucked a loose lock of her blue hair behind her ear.

"You're a pretty little thing, Blitz." Laxus Dreyar smirked, chucked the underside of her chin gently, "I know this isn't what you wanted, and I'm not gonna lie and say I did either," his fingers caught her chin as she went to look away. "But I'm not unhappy with it either, we're stuck together now, Blitz. Mated," his gaze hardened for a moment, "You're a damn fine woman Ashton, and I can see what my dragon sees in you. I know I fucked this up royally, but I'm gonna make it up to you."

She took a deep breath through her nose, caught in his wild stormy regard. Heat built over hers skin and her throat pulsed straight to her heart. "Okay."


End file.
